I think he was conferring with Hastert on the best way to “Pet the Goat,” if you know what I mean.
WTF is the modern-day obsession with dates of terrorist attacks all about? In the old days, shit got blown up and we called it “The Attack on X”. Nowadays we have to label it “X/Y - The Day That Bad Shit Went Down”, and everyone’s forever scouring their calendars and wondering when it’s “safe” to travel.
Pop quiz - what was the date of the Oklahoma City bombing? Or, for, UK residents like me, the Manchester or Omagh bombs? No clue whatsoever. Why obsess over DATES all of a sudden? 
Along the lines of Wag The Goat?
April 19.
Well, where ever it started, the 3/11 Madrid train bombings reinforced it for me.
Same day as the Branch Davidian seige in Waco, chosen for that reason.
Rarely it does happen, although overall I’m with you.
I’m watching NY1 (local news channel) and they’re speaking with a man from a building across the street. He says he saw the plane, which seemed to be a twin engine prop (i.e. propeller) plane, weaving around buildings; the engines were choking or sputtering, and seemed in distress before crashing.
According to a fresh report, the plane originated from a Peterboro NJ airport. One confirmed dead, another possible. I don’t know if that’s counting the pilot.
This is really freaky; I’m only fourteen blocks away, and I didn’t hear a thing. The city’s so bleedin’ noisy as a matter of course during the afternoon that you can’t even hear a plane crashing nearby! It’s raining pretty hard at the moment, so I guess that’ll help dissipate the smoke. I’m feeling nauseous though… bad memories of five years ago.
Anyway, just thought I’d give some local coverage.
What you do not like numerology?
I think Americans have always been big on the anniversary date. July 4th and Dec 7th come to mind very quickly. 9/11 rang a bell in many ways. 911 is our emergency call number. The 11 looked like the towers to some small degree and it just stuck. Additionally, the attack was in 3 locations, so it would be hard to call it anything by location without slighting the locations. I guess we could have called it the Day of Terror, but 9/11 is what has stuck. So now we have at 3 major events known mostly by their dates.
Jim
MSNBC is now confirmingn that it was a Cirrus SR20.
Meant to include this link to linguist Geoff Nunberg’s Fresh Air commentary on the subject.
Corey Lidle?
MSNBC is now confirming that Yankee pitcher Corey Lidle had purchased the plane, and was waiting for FAA licensing. The plane apparently had not filed a flight plan. This just in, they are now saying that Corey Lidle was on the plane.
Remember, remember the fifth of November…
ESPN reporting that Lidle was the pilot. Yankees confirming.
Apparently his passport was found on the street. The pane was his.
Wait, so he was not yet liscenced and had no flight plan? How does that happen?
The Yankees and New York city officials are saying that Cory Lidle was killed in the crash
An FAA spokesperson said, in the above-linked article, that pilots flying small planes by sight are not required to be in contact with air traffic control.
He had a pilot’s license. The plane’s licensure had not been finalized.
MLB’s website has the news now, too.
Can planes normally fly during that period?